Brookshadow slunk along the side of a fallen tree, her ears pricked for the sound of her targeted prey, and her nose working to make sure the wind direction didn't turn to give her prey the advantage. As her prey came into veiw, Brookshadow heard a twig snap behind her, and she turned one of her ears towards the sound to better hear any more sounds. The large figure in front of her jerked, its ears pricking in her direction, telling Brookshadow that it had also heard the twig. Brookshadow heard soft pawsteps, and she flicked her tail to warn her team member to be more quiet. The pawsteps faded from her hearing, and Brookshadow swiveled her ear back to the large figure in front of her. Brookshadow saw eyes gleaming in the shadows one the other side of the large figure, and she made out Flintwhisker crouching in the shadows. Brookshadow caught his gaze, flicked her ears, motioned to a twig sitting next to her, brought her paw gently down on it so it didn't make a sound, then looked at Flintwhisker to see if he understood. The brown and silver tom nodded and looked around, then crept silently out of Brookshadows view. Brookshadow faintly heard a twig snap and watched as her prey's ears flickered in that direction, its gaze staring intently into the bushes. Feeling triumph rise inside her, Brookshadow crept closer to the figure. Gathering her muscles, she leapt out, her claws sheathed, and landed on the back of Dewfur, who jumped in surprise and rolled over, knocking the breath out of her. Dewfur jumped up and turned to face Flintwhisker, who had jumped out at him. Brookshadow regained her breath an scrambled to her paws just as Flintwhisker leaped at Dewfur. But before her brother could land on Dewfur, a silver tabby shape jumped into Flintwhisker's side, and Brookshadow recognized Millie. Brookshadow leaped back on top of Dewfur, succeeding in pushing him to the ground this time. Checking again to make sure her claws were sheathed, she swiped her paw against his shoulder as they wrestled together on the ground. Dewfur writhed and smacked his paw hard against her shoulder, making her stagger, and Dewfur pushed his back paws up into her stomach, pushing her off of him and once again knocking the breath out of her. She stumbled, fell, and lay on the ground, stunned, as Dewfur loomed over her and gently batted her head with his paws. Then she shook her head and pushed her paws up into his stomach, making him back up, and she tried to stand, but her stomach clenched and her head spun, making her stumble again. She felt another cat jump behind her and saw a ginger pelt above her and recognized Cherryfall as she batted at her with her paws, knocking Brookshadow onto her side. She lay there, taking the hits and groaning inwardly as her head spun from each of them.

"Cherryfall, stop!" Brookshadow heard Dewfur say as he pushed Cherryfall from on top of her.

"Why? What is it?" Cherryfall said as she backed off from Brookshadow.

"Something's obviously wrong." Dewfur said, glaring at her. Crouching next to Brookshadow, he continued. "Are you okay?"

Brookshadow nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." Getting up, she shook her head to clear it and swayed on her paws. "I'm fine," She repeated.

Dewfur was shaking his head. "You look asleep on your paws. Have you been getting much sleep lately?"

Brookshadow stiffened and forced her eyes open. "Yes," She said, a bit to forcefully. "Yes, I've been getting enough sleep."

Dewfur didn't look fooled. "Well, I don't think so. You should go and get some rest."

"I don't need any rest." Brookshadow protested.

"You know that we can all see how tired you are. Why deny it?"

"Because it's not true!" Brookshadow responded, her pelt begining to itch in annoyance. Just leave it alone, Dewfur. She thought.

"But it obviously is!" Dewfur retorted, his tail lashing.

"Can I say something?" Cherryfall asked.

Dewfur and Brookshadow rounded on her. "No!" They said simultainiously.

"Yep, there's my place. And you guys just put me in it, thank you..." Cherryfall muttered.

"Dewfur," Brookshadow said taking a breath to calm herself down, "I'm fine. I know I look tired, but I'm not. I don't know how I could be even more awake!"

Dewfur sighed in exasperation. "Why are you so stubborn? You say you can't be any more awake. I say that you can't be any more asleep!"

Brookshadow felt her patience snap. "I'm not the only one here who's stubborn." Brookshadow growled, padding up to him so that their muzzles were almost brushing.

"Oh, I'm the stubborn one now?" Dewfur snarled.

"Can I please say something?" Cherryfall shouted.

"No! This is not your fight, so stay out of it!" Dewfur growled at her.

"Well, too bad, I'm going to say something anyways." Cherryfall said, walking up to them. "STOP FIGHTING!" She shouted into their ears, making them both flinch and fold their ears back in pain.

"You could have just said stop!" Brookshadow said.

"It obviously wouldn't have worked!" Glancing up at the sky, Cheryyfall sighed, regaining her composture. "Come on, we were supposed to be getting back to camp by now anyways."

"And who elected you the boss of me?" Dewfur muttered.

"Actually, Squirrelflight. So if you have a problem with it, you better go sort it out with the clan deputy!" Cherryfall growled. "No more fighting, you two! You guys just can't have one peace day?"

"Nope." Brookshadow said bluntly. She caught Dewfur looking at her, and looked away from him.

"Well, you two should work on it."

Millie purred in amusement. "What a couple you two would make!"

Brookshadow whipped her head around to Dewfur, then looked to Millie. "No! What makes you say that?" Brookshadow thought she saw hurt flash in Dewfur's eyes, but she decided it was just her imagination.

"You two act just like Bramblestar and Squirrelflight did. Bramblestar, well, he was Brambleclaw back then, got so annoyed by Squirrelflight, who at the time of them leaving to the mountains, was still an apprentince. When they got back, their relationship seemed to have improved greatly. But then came Ashfur. Squirrelflight couldn't seem to decide between them! But, in the end, she obviously chose Bramblestar, or else you wouldn't be here, Brookshadow!" Millie said.

Brookshadow's pelt prickled uncomfortingly. She cast a glance at Dewfur. He caught her staring and she looked away, her tail flicking impatiently. She was itching to get back to camp. Just as the small battle training patrol was about to enter camp, Brookshadow felt her shoulder being nudged and turned to see Dewfur.

"What do you want?" Brookshadow asked, sighing.

"To talk to you. Come here." Dewfur said gently as he began padding away. Brookshadow sighed and followed him. He sat down in a spot were the sunlight managed to filter through, and Brookshadow sat facing him.

"What is it?" Brookshadow asked, her tone a bit impatient.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Dewfur said.

"I'm sorry too."

"No, I mean it. It wasn't right of me to accuse you like that."

Brookshadow looked at him. Then she sighed again. He was being serious. "Well, you were right. I am tired a lot lately." That's as close to the truth as I can come, Brookshadow thought irritibly.
Dewfur nodded. "I can tell. What do you say you get a good rest, I can come up with some reason why you're tired, and then later we go hunting together?" He smiled a bit as he said this, tilting his head.

"You know, it sounds great," Brookshadow mewed, returning his smile. She surprised herself when she leaned over to brush her muzzle against his. Dewfur seemed just as surprised, but he let out a purr and stood to go to camp.

Brookshadow woke, feeling a prod in her shoulder, and she looked up to see Dewfur standing above her. She stood and followed him out of the warrior's den and stretched, arching her back and stretching her front legs out in front of her. She looked up and was startled to see it was far past noon, the sun halfway across the sky after its highest point.

"You ready?" Dewfur asked her. She nodded and began to trot out of camp, heading for the lake, but Dewfur stopped her.

"Aren't we going hunting?" Brookshadow asked, confused, as he led her to the farthest part of their territory, the opposite direction of the lake

"We are," Dewfur said, stepping closer to her as they padded along. "But I want to show you where I hunt."

"I thought you hunted where everyone else hunts," Brookshadow meowed, still confused.

"I do, when I'm on a hunting patrol. But when I'm on solo missions, I go up this way." Dewfur stopped to sniff the air. "We're not being followed. Good,"

"Why is that good?" Brookshadow asked, a bit unsettled. "I mean, it's not bad, right?"

Dewfur hesitated. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I?"

Dewfur shrugged. "I don't know. But, it might be bad if someone were following us, and you'll soon find out why." He added as Brookshadow began to ask yet another question. He lifted a low-hanging branch out of her way, and Brookshadow smelled the ThunderClan border marker and stopped, while Dewfur kept going past it. He turned when Brookshadow called to him.

"Come on!" He called to her, flicking his tail invitingly.

"Are you sure?" Brookshadow asked, hesitantly stepping over the border.

"It's safe; I promise. And if it isn't," he said, his eyes mischievious, "You have me to protect you."

Brookshadow was about to retort, 'I don't need anyone to protect me,' but she bit her tongue and purred to him instead. "I know. You're one of the bravest cats I know," She told him. Crisis avoided.

Dewfur swelled with pride. "Thanks. Come on; There's usually prey up this way." He led the way up to a hill where the trees thinned out, and when they reached the top, Brookshadow gasped in amazement. On the other side was a large moor, so large that she couldn't seem to see the end of it. Small forests dotted its landscape.

"And none of the Clans know about this?" She gasped.

Dewfur shook his head. "Not one, that I know of. You ready to hunt?"

"Yes!" Brookshadow began to trot down the hill, then, gaining speed, she yowled at Dewfur. "Race you to that rock!"

Dewfur picked up speed, laughing.

Brookshadow lengthened her stride and pushed her back paws harder down into the soil until she was flying towards the rock. She slowed as she reached the rock and turned to wait for Dewfur, panting. He was quite a few paces behind her, but as he neared the rock, he didn't slow down. Instead he barrelled into her, sending them tumbling across the moor. When they finally stopped rolling, Brookshadow batted at his ear with her paw, purring in amusement. Dewfur licked her cheek, stood up and began to pad closer to one of the small forests they had seen. Brookshadow shook herself and followed him, smelling the air for prey.

Suddenly Dewfur stiffened. Brookshadow stopped and followed his gaze to a white pelt on the grassy moor. She stepped closer to Dewfur so he could hear her, but the rabbit couldn't. "Dewfur, we're not WindClan."

The silver tom flicked his ears. "I know, but we can try," he murmured, lowering himself into a crouch and begining to stalk the prey. Brookshadow sighed quietly and did the same, being sure not to make any noise. When they were only a foxlength away, the wind direction shifted and the rabbit began to pelt away. Flinging herself after it, Brookshadow lengthened her stride to match Dewfur's as they chased it. Dewfur suddenly leaped, landing on top of the rabbit. Brookshadow leaned back on her haunches, trying to slow herself down, but ran into Dewfur anyways.

"Wow," Brookshadow said, sitting up and panting. "Can we possibly not run into each other today?"

Dewfur purred in amusement, his jaws clamped firmly around the rabbit. "This should feed a cat or two," He mewed around the fur.

Brookshadow pressed herself against his side, purring. "Good."

Dewfur set the rabbit down and smiled at her, then pricked his ears at something. "Think you can catch that?"

Brookshadow followed his gaze to see a thrush pecking at the ground, seemingly oblivious to all the noise the two cats were making. "Must be deaf," She murmured to herself as she crouched and stalked towards it. The thrush didn't notice her until she was a tail-length away; then it began to fly up with an alarm call. Brookshadow gathered her muscles and leaped up after it, her claw snagging on its tail feathers and succeeding in dragging it back down to earth, where the light brown tabby nipped its neck to kill it. Dewfur bounded over, his rabbit in his jaws.

"Ready to go back?" He mumbled around his catch. Brookshadow nodded and picked the dead thrush up, and they began padding back home, their pelts brushing as they walked.

Brookshadow stalked through the undergrowth, her eyes still adjusting to the darkness. All at once the smell of RiverClan hit her, and Brookshadow realized that she had reached the border. She glanced around to make sure that no cat was there, then crossed the border and sat down near the river, her ears pricked and alert for anything. She thought that she heard a twig snap behind her, but then she heard a faint splashing from the river and she stood, looking into the water expectantly. There was a reddish-orange pelt swiming swiftly through the water towards her. Brookshadow let out a soft purr as it climbed up to her, its pelt dripping wet.

"Piketooth!" Brookshadow purred, pressing her muzzle against his. He purred back, then licked her muzzle and stepped back to wash his own streaming pelt.

"How are you?" He asked her between licks.

"I'm doing fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine. There, no more water."

Brookshadow looked at his pelt, which wasn't streaming water anymore, and she pressed herself up against his side. He purred and licked the top of her head, then glanced around them.

"Were you careful?" He asked her, his eyes wary.

"Of course. I always am." Brookshadow mewed softly.

"I know," He replied, watching her affectionately. "But I worry."

"You don't always have to." She told him softly. "While I do like knowing that someone will back me up, you should know that I can take care of myself."

Piketooth licked her ears, purring softly. "I know."

Brookshadow nuzzled into his neck fur, enjoying his warmth.

"How was your day?" Piketooth asked, sitting down.

Brookshadow nestled closer to him, also sitting, and smiled. "Eventful. I went on a battle training patrol, then later went hunting with Dewfur."

"Dewfur?" Piketooth murmured. "You haven't ever metioned Dewfur before..."

Brookshadow shrugged a bit. "I didn't really have a good relationship with him before today. We would always argue about stupid things."

"And that changed today?"

Brookshadow nodded. "For the better."

"I see..." Piketooth mewed, seeming to want to say more on the matter. But instead he noticed Brookshadow holding back a yawn. "You're tired, I can tell. Here." Piketooth stood and trotted over to the nearest tree, gathering a few dried leaves to make a nest, then beckoned her over with a flick of his tail. Brookshadow gladly laid down, then purred lovingly as he laid down beside her to share warmth. She closed her eyes, feeling safe, and drifted off the sleep.

She was awoken a small time later by Piketooth, who was nudging her shoulder to wake her. She blinked her eyes open and stretched, yawning.

"You should be getting back." He murmured. "You don't want another cat to wonder where you've gone and search for you."

Brookshadow nodded, shaking off her sleep. "I know. Goodnight, Piketooth," She mewed as he slipped back into the water. Then she turned around, and began heading for her own camp. She sat down by a clump of strong smelling ferns and gave herself a quick wash, then rubbed herself in the ferns. Continuing back to camp, she thought more than once that she had seen a shadow flickering ahead of her and twigs snapping, but she decided it was just her imagination. As she entered camp, she glanced around to look for any other cats that might be awake. Spotting none, she started towards the warrior's den. When she was halfway across the clearing, a voice made her jump.

"What are you doing up at this time?"

Brookshadow turned to see Jayfeather. "Nothing," She answered the blind medicine cat. "I wasn't sleeping well, so I decided to take a walk."

"Uh-huh." Jayfeather sniffed. "Well, you should get back to your nest now."

"Yes, Jayfeather," Brookshadow said, dipping her head to him and slipping into the warrior's den. She crouched in her nest and watched Dewfur, whose nest had been moved right next to hers, and felt guilt tug at her stomach. I can't believe I'm doing this. She thought. I love Piketooth.... But I enjoy Dewfur's company, and he's in my Clan... She sighed quietly, curling up next to Dewfur and laying her head down on her paws. I need to figure out what I want.